broadsheet newspaper
broadsheet newspaper, a newspaper format the name of which is derived from its large page size. This format and the type of journalism traditionally associated with it have historically been contrasted with the smaller tabloid format, although today the distinctions have little meaning.
The term broadsheet refers to the size of the paper used for a newspaper. The large sheets of newsprint characteristic of the broadsheet format have traditionally dominated the daily newspaper industry. In the early days of newspapers, the large size of the page made it easier for printers to print a smaller number of larger pages. Because of cost and other considerations, over time, broadsheet newspapers have shrunk in size, and many newspapers have shifted to the smaller tabloid format. The term broadsheet also carries particular connotations of journalistic quality and seriousness in contrast to tabloids, which have come to be associated with a more entertainment-oriented, sensationalistic, and colloquial style. While the terms broadsheet and tabloid continue to connote these different journalistic styles, in practice this divide began to disappear by the 1990s as the content of both types of newspaper began to overlap as more publishers shifted from the broadsheet to the less expensive tabloid format.
Origins
While newspapers developed during the print revolution that was made possible by the spread of the printing press, they slowly expanded in size to accommodate the medley of content crammed into publications by printers, including shipping news, foreign dispatches, commodity prices, and advertisements. Similar to modern newspapers, these early 17th-century broadsheets organized their text into vertical columns.
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The broadsheet form developed largely out of technical necessity. In the 1600s and 1700s, newspapers continued to be printed on wooden presses requiring pages to be pressed against the type one sheet at a time. Printing was a slow, labor-intensive process. This constrained circulation to small numbers and made the single-sheet newspaper a necessity. As editorial and advertising content increased and the need for more space forced newspapers to expand, it made technical and economic sense to increase the size of the page rather than expand the total number of pages. A single page only needed to be folded; not assembled. One large sheet of newsprint could be printed on both sides and folded to create four separate pages.
In the early 1800s, the rise of mechanical presses increased printing speeds and allowed for greater print runs and thus circulations. Implementation of steam-powered presses further quickened the pace with which newspapers could be produced. But this did not lead to a diminishment of page size. Rather, it remained sensible, from the printers standpoint, to churn out larger pages rather than assemble many smaller sheets. On the extreme end, broadsheet pages grew to enormous sizes due to advertising policies that encouraged yearly contracts, but did not restrict the size of the display ads. As a result, in the 1830s, a page of the New York Journal of Commerce measured a width of 35 inches and a height of 58 inches. When opened, the two pages spanned 70 inches, occupying a little over 28 square feet of space. Each page carried news and advertisements across 11 columns. This format came to be known as the blanket sheet because of its cumbersome size.
Large sheets remained standard for urban newspapers. In 1867, the Chicago Tribune carried ten columns, two more than the eight or nine column pages common in that era. Within columns, spaces between rows of text known as leading decreased. With a minimum of graphics, the pages came across as seas of gray type. Because of the large page dimensions, the total number of pages in 19th-century papers remained either four or eight, depending on the size of the circulation and the size of the city. This meant only one or two actual pages were needed (before folding). In the 20th century, the increase in use of graphics and movement away from text-heavy pages led to smaller page sizes and fewer columns usually five or six. The total number of pages increased and newspapers began to be divided into sections.
Broadsheets and tabloids
Challenges to the dominance of the broadsheet format began in the United States when some of the penny press newspapers began to run smaller pages. These mid-19th-century newspapers were the original tabloid-sized papers and, in key ways, foreordained the popular journalism of the tabloid newspapers of the 20th century. Two early 20th-century examples of tabloid newspapers are the Daily Mirror in London and the Daily News in New York. The quick success of both newspapers raised interest in the format.
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The rise of the tabloid format led to an important differentiation extending beyond simply page size. Tabloids came to be identified with a brash style of emotionally charged journalism. Tabloid pages teemed with short, punchy articles written in a distinct voice with abundant photographs. While broadsheets offered a range of stories on the front page representing the range of stories on any given day, tabloids featured one key story on the front, usually accompanied by a large, attention-grabbing headline.
With the emergence of tabloids and their populist journalism, broadsheets gained a reputation for sobriety and seriousness. This distinction was particularly pronounced in Britain, where nationally circulated newspapers competed across the country. Broadsheet readers were perceived as more educated, while tabloid readers, many from the working class, were viewed differently. This difference was less evident in the United States due to the prevalence of local market-specific newspapers.
With the rise of tabloids and their particular brand of populist journalism, broadsheets by comparison came to be identified as more sober with the reputation of seriousness. This was particularly the case in Britain with its nationally circulated newspapers. Tabloids and broadsheets competed across Britain, appealing to different demographics. Broadsheet readers were viewed as more educated and sophisticated whereas tabloid readers, many of whom were working class, were seen as the opposite. This difference was less pronounced in the United States because of the dominance of local market-specific newspapers. Tabloid newspapers competed directly with broadsheets in only the largest markets. Further melding the two approaches, starting in 1981, the national newspaper USA Today, while a broadsheet in its dimensions, featured the colorful graphics and short stories characteristic of tabloids.
For a vivid example of the broadsheet-tabloid mix, consider New York City, by far the most competitive American newspaper market, though a shadow of what existed as recently as the 1960s. The two daily broadsheets, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, are considered paragons of in-depth news. By contrast, the New York Post and New York Daily News, both tabloids, are seen as sensational and succinct. For example, when the city’s newspapers carried front-page stories about President Gerald Ford’s refusal to grant federal funds to help the city avoid bankruptcy, the Times ran the headline: FORD, CASTIGATING CITY, ASSERTS HED VETO FUND GUARANTEE; OFFERS BANKRUPTCY BILL. By contrast, the Daily News ran the now-classic headline: FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD. The complicated, policy-specific headline at the Times contrasted sharply with the emotional paraphrasing of the Daily News, whose headline became a famous example of the tabloid style.
By the start of the 21st century, the distinction between tabloids and broadsheets had become negligible. Rising paper costs, a shrinking audience, declining advertising revenues, and the general unwieldiness of the broadsheet format (especially for public transit commuters) resulted in many European newspapers shifting to a smaller, tabloid size. Even The Times of London, once a paragon of the content associated with the broadsheet, shifted to a tabloid format in 2004 after 216 years as a broadsheet. The switch resulted in an increase in circulation, matching the result when the broadsheet Independent made the same change. While a tabloid size during the week, however, The Times continued to publish its Sunday edition in broadsheet format.
In the United States, broadsheet pages shrank in the face of rising newsprint costs and decreases in the number of advertisements. The page width of The New York Times dropped from 13.5 to 12 inches in 2006. The once-10-column-wide Chicago Tribune was reduced to an 11-inch-wide page. Page depths the vertical measure generally stood at 21 or 22 inches. Another direction has been a mix of formats. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch began running its Saturday edition as a tabloid in November 1996 before moving to a consistent, compact broadsheet style.
Conclusion
While the large pages of the broadsheet newspaper have traditionally defined what a quality newspaper looks like, the early 21st century marked a shift to smaller sizes, and sometimes a move away from broadsheets altogether. This reversal came about because of changes in production and cost. As content style and page size increasingly came to be unrelated, the journalistic distinction between the broadsheet and the tabloid has become less meaningful. Despite this, invoking broadsheet journalism continues to connote quality in-depth, serious news.
The original version of this article was published by SAGE Publications in The SAGE Encyclopedia of Journalism.